


Orot

by MiniNephthys



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Child Neglect, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2015-10-13
Packaged: 2018-04-26 06:46:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4994269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniNephthys/pseuds/MiniNephthys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk returns to the underground.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Orot

**Author's Note:**

> Post-pacifist neutral ending.

The trip up the mountain is much easier the second time.

Frisk doesn’t know why. Maybe it’s that dodging around monsters has built up muscle in their legs, or maybe it’s that they’re simply more determined this time around.

Once again, the flowers break their fall.

* * *

They don’t expect to see Toriel in the ruins: she must be ruling the underground from New Home. They look for her anyway, and on the way meet familiar faces. The spiders give them a slight discount on cider, and the warm drink lifts their spirits, just a little.

Again, they hear Sans before they see him.

“Human. Don’t you know how to greet a new pal?”

Frisk turns around before Sans can finish his speech. “If you’re going to try the whoopee cushion in the hand trick on me twice,” they say, “your supply of practical jokes must be pretty bare bones.”

They’ve been practicing bad skeleton puns the whole way here.

Sans, for his part, looks genuinely startled for a moment before his smile returns. “You got me there.”

Bad joke out of the way, Frisk hugs him. He’s neither warm nor comfy, but when he returns the hug Frisk can finally start to relax.

“So you came back,” says Sans, stepping back after Frisk lets go. They walk through the gate together: it still hasn’t been made any narrower. “Tori’ll want to see you right away. Plus Papy-”

“Human!!” That shout came from Papyrus, who runs the entire distance to where he can sweep Frisk up in his arms and hug them tightly. Frisk laughs despite the pressure on their chest. “You’re back, you came back! I missed you so much!”

“Missed you too,” they answer, grinning. They wiggle their feet. “You can put me down now. Any time.”

Papyrus gently sets them down on the ground. “Undyne will be so happy to see you! And Alphys, and Toriel, and everyone!”

“I hope so,” they answer.

“You’re really lucky! Undyne is staying over at our place right now! Her house is on fire again. You’ll get to see her right away!”

The smile slips from Frisk’s face. “Um… that’s great. Can we walk a little slower?”

“Of course! You must be tired from falling down a really big mountain.” Papyrus slows his steps by a fraction. “I could carry you!”

“That’s fine,” says Frisk. “I just want to savor the walk, that’s all.”

Papyrus is easy. Frisk knows he’ll be happy to see them in any context. Sans’ reaction was… a bit unexpected, like he didn’t think Frisk would recognize him, but he seems content enough now.

Undyne, though.

* * *

They stare at the door of Papyrus and Sans’ house for a long time, hands in their pockets.

“It’s not locked,” Papyrus prompts, after a minute. “Oh, is it too cold to take out your hands and open the door? Never fear, for I, the cold-immune Papyrus, will open it for you!”

Papyrus opens the door, and Frisk peeks their head in. Undyne is sitting on the couch, watching television.

“Hey, Papyrus, your favorite show is almost-” She turns her head and spots Frisk, and immediately falls silent.

Frisk swallows. “...Hi.”

“Hey.” Undyne’s expression is hard to read. “...It’s freezing out there. Why don’t you come in?”

Frisk steps inside, followed by Papyrus and Sans. “It’s nice to see you again-”

“Kid,” she says, “not that I’m not happy you’re doing okay and all, but what are you doing back here, after everything you did to get above ground?”

They figured it’d go something like this. They’ve been practicing this part as much as the skeleton puns, but it’s still hard to say. “I… After I left the barrier, I w-went back to my house. I thought my parents would be happy to see me.” Swallow. “...They weren’t.”

Frisk practiced more than that, but even though they try, they can’t choke out any more.

Undyne’s face twists into a scowl. “Those scumbags, I oughtta…!” Then she sees Frisk flinch and softens her expression. “You’re welcome here. Nobody’s gonna kick you out. Just… try to stay this time, and not...” She trails off.

That’s the other thing. “I didn’t kill him.”

Undyne stares at them. Even Sans gives them a puzzled look.

“I didn’t kill him,” they repeat. “I… I had to fight him, because he wouldn’t give me another choice, but after I’d fought him for a long time I tried to spare him. He told me I could stay in the underground, that he’d take care of me- a-and that’s when Flowey killed him.”

“Oh,” is all that Undyne says.

“It’s still my fault,” Frisk starts, looking to the ground. “If I hadn’t fought him, Flowey wouldn’t have been able to-”

She pushes herself off the couch, crosses the room to them, and scoops them up in a tight hug.

They blink. Undyne’s hugs are even tighter than Papyrus’. “Undyne?”

“Asgore used to tell me I got mad too easily,” she says, quiet and slow. “I always thought he didn’t get mad enough. If somebody apologized to him he’d always forgive them, no matter what they did. ...You did the best you could, and it’s not your fault things turned out that way.”

Frisk shuts their eyes. “I’m sorry… I won’t leave again, I promise...”

A sudden squeeze tells them that Papyrus has made this a group hug. “You can stay here as long as you want! You can sleep on the couch, or at the castle, or… probably not at Undyne’s place until it’s not on fire…”

“I’ll get furniture that’s actually inflammable next time and you can crash at my place,” she says. “No big deal.”

“That just means ‘flammable’,” Sans tells her.

“Really? No wonder it keeps catching fire! I thought the manufacturers were lying to me!”

It’s not as though the weight of what happened with Asgore disappears completely. A person is still dead. That won’t change.

But at least now that Frisk’s forgiven, they can live.


End file.
